Thief of the Century
by unicornmeow
Summary: A thief. That's what Nikki Bells is. But not just any thief. She's a daughter of Hermes and the best thief that's ever been in Camp Half-Blood. This is her story.
1. Chapter One: Never Lie to Mom

**AN: Hey guys! I know I shouldn't be starting a new story along with what I already have, but this one wouldn't go away! Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own PJO._

Chapter One: Never Lie to Mom

I race up the stairs of the apartment building and into apartment 249. Home. I slam the door shut behind me and lean against it, breathing hard.

"What did you take this time, Nikki?" my mom sighs. She knows she'll never be able to stop me from stealing. It's in my blood. A sort of family thing. From my dad, of course. Mom doesn't "engage in criminal activity". Her exact words.

"This." I hold up a cigarette lighter triumphantly. "They never even saw me near it." I head towards my room.

"You know, I never understood why thieves like you and your father had to have a collection of stolen stuff," Mom said, following me. "With him, it was pocket knives, and with you, it's cigarette lighters."

I place the plain black lighter in an empty spot on one of my many shelves.

"The satisfaction of knowing that you got away," I reply, surveying my extensive collection. Walking over to a far shelf and picking up a pink lighter I say, "I took this when I was three years old from a gas station. No one saw me take it." I set it down and sit on my bed. "That was the beginning of my thieving career. From then on, I stole pretty much anything small enough to safely carry off without being noticed. Yes, is illegal, but there is one rule I have never broken. That rule is: Never lie to Mom."

"True, true," Mom laughs. "You've never lied to me, not once."

"Never, in all 14 years of my life, have I lied to or deceived you, my mother."

Mom laughs again. "Yes, yes. I know, Nikki. You've told me this at least once each week this month. I know you haven't lied to me."

I laugh as well. "Yeah, sorry."

"No need to be sorry."

I laugh again and sit down as Mom stands up.

"I'm gonna go get started on dinner, okay? Don't get into too much trouble."

I give her a thumbs-up as I flop over onto my side on my bed. She leaves the room and I sigh. I hate doing this to Mom. It must be so stressful for her to have a thief for a kid, but I can't help it. It's just what I do.

**AN: Like it? Love it? Hate it with a burning passion? Whatever it is, please review! unicornmeow loves you! **


	2. Chapter Two: Teachers not Trustworthy

**AN: Hey, my little kittens! Hope you are all happy and ready to read! If you aren't happy, remember that I love you all and that if I could hug you, I would. And if you're not ready to read, well, then don't read. Anyways...On with the story!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, but I do own Nikki, Laurel, and Nikki's mom!_

Chapter Two: Teachers are not Trustworthy

I sighed as I walked into my second class of the day. English.

"Take out your copies of Great Expectations," droned Mrs. Taylor.

I sighed yet again as I complied. We read another chapter and attempted to analyze it. This whole thing was kinda difficult for me to do because of my ADHD and dyslexia. I glanced down at the page and attempted to decipher the jumble of letters on the page. I shook my head. Impossible.

At the end of class Mrs. Taylor beckoned me over to her desk. Laurel, my only friend lingered by the door, reluctant to go without me. I gestured to her to say she didn't have to wait. She hesitated, but left.

"Your English grade is less than satisfactory," the teacher scolded.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, slipping a half used pack of Post-Its into the pocket of my jeans.

"I'm afraid I can't let this slide by," she warned, seeming to change. Her red hair turned to flames and her skin paled even more than normal. She began to advance towards me in an uneven limp.

I looked down and nearly screamed. One of her leg was that of a donkey and the other was metal! I ran out of the classroom and straight into Laurel.

"Run!" I yelled. "Mrs. Taylor's turned into some sort of monster donkey fire metal thingy!"

She started to run down the hall with me and said, "Monster donkey fire metal thingy? You mean she's an empousa ?"

"Um, what?" I asked, still running from the thing that had once been my English teacher.

"An empousa. A Greek monster," Laurel clarified.

"Oh," was my only response. And we ran, ran out of the school, down a few streets. We ran until we were 100% sure we'd lost Mrs. Taylor.

As we slowed to a walk, I pulled out the Post-Its that I'd stolen and looked at what was written on the top one. 'Kill Nikolette Bell'

I showed it to Laurel. "What the hell is this?" I almost screeched as I waved the yellow paper in her face. "Kill Nikolette Bell! Kill! KILL!"

"Calm down, Nikki. She's a monster, you're a demigod, of course she wants to kill you, " Laurel said in what was supposed to be a comforting tone.

"A what!"

"A monster," she said calmly. "A Greek-"

I cut her off. "No! What did you say I was?"

"A demigod, the offspring of a Greek god and a mortal. I'd say that your father is Hermes because of the stealing thing."

I just stared at her. "Not good?" she asked timidly. I just kept staring. "Oh Hades! I'm a tree! I'm not that good with human emotions!"

I stared at Laurel some more. "A tree?"

"Yes, a tree! I'm a dryad, you're a demigod, Mrs. Tayor's an empousa, and I was sent to take you to Camp Half-Blood where you'll be safe!"

"Wait a second! Hold up! Stop right there!" I flailed my arm around in confusion and stopped walking. Laurel stopped as well and turned to look at me.

"What?" she asked sounding a little scared of what I might say.

"What do you mean 'take me to Camp Half-Blood'? And how are you a tree? And me? The daughter of a god? How could I be related to a god?" I got more and more panicked as i went on. I had no clue what was going on here, but I wanted to find out.

"Ummm….Camp Half-Blood is the only safe place for demigods, um, i guess I'm sort of tied to the tree. If the tree dies, I die and if I die the tree die, so I sort of am the tree, and yeah, you. The daughter of a god. Most likely Hermes. And well, as for the 'how could you be related' part...I assume you know how babies are made..." she trailed off, looking at me expectantly.

"Of course I do!" I exclaimed, still exasperated. "But gods don't exist! Do they?"

Laurel just nodded. I sat down in shock and, of course, began freaking out.

"What do you mean gods exist? They can't exist! And on top of that, you want to tell me I'm related to one? What? Was my dad a god or something?" I laughed, not expecting her response.

"Yes," she replied. "Hermes. Because of, you know, the stealing thing."

"Hold up, Dad? Hermes?" I shook my head. "No. Just no."

Laurel looked around nervously. "Um, we should get going. Now that you know who you are, monsters will be able to find you much easier than before."

I didn't like the sound of more monsters, so I nodded and stood. "This doesn't mean I fully accept what you're tyring to tell me, but ehere are we going?"

"Camp Half-Blood. It's in New York," she replied, standing from where she'd sat during my whole denying speech.

"New York!" I shrieked. "How are we going to get to New York from Illinois without a car?"

"By train," was Laurel's reply, and we set off on our journey.

**AN: Like it? Love it? Hate it with a burning passion? Whatever it is, please review! As always, unicornmeow loves you so much! Hugs!**


End file.
